


The Language of Flowers

by evergreeen



Category: Sky High (2005)
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fix-It, Friends to Lovers, High School, Jealousy, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Superheroes, We don't know her, Who is canon?, but that we never got bc Disney didn't make a Sky High 2, it's definitely been done before but I wanted to do it too so here we are, shoutout to miss rona because without her I wouldn't have the time to write this, the Warren/Layla relationship we all deserved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27834601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evergreeen/pseuds/evergreeen
Summary: “I think he deserves to sweat about it for a while,” Magenta said, reclining back in her chair. “Maybe if he thinks that another guy is interested in you, he’ll come to his senses and see what’s right in front of him.”Layla’s head snapped up to look at her shapeshifting friend.“Magenta, that’s it!”“What’s it?”“I’m going to make Will jealous… By pretending to date Warren Peace.”
Relationships: Gwen Grayson/Will Stronghold, Warren Peace/Layla Williams
Comments: 16
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I am writing a fix-it fic about a movie that came out 15 years ago. And what about it?
> 
> Pretty much goes without saying, but this is canon-divergent although it more or less follows the storyline from the movie... Except 1) we get the Layla/Warren pairing we deserved and 2) a less rushed timeline because the pacing in the movie just did not do it for me luvs sorry I needed to slow it down add more detail lol.
> 
> **Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of the characters, they belong to Disney.**

**_Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 - 7:51pm_**

Layla tugged at the sleeves of her shirt as she took a left and rounded the corner onto Spruce Street. It was mid-September and fall was starting to make its initial appearance - the time of year where it was warm during the day, but as soon as the sun slipped below the horizon, the air took on a chill that served as an omen of what was soon to follow. She could see and feel the changes in the foliage around her, too. Their natural growth was beginning to slow as they prepared to shed their leaves to conserve energy through the colder months.

Glancing at her cell phone to check the time, she picked up the pace a little to make sure she would arrive at her destination a few minutes early. She was meeting Will for an eight o’ clock dinner at The Paper Lantern. The restaurant was Layla’s favorite, not to mention her and her mom’s go-to takeout spot for years. The two loved Chinese food, and it just so happened to have the most extensive menu of vegetarian fare available to them within a five mile radius. She often ordered out there when her mom was working late and she didn’t care to cook for herself.

Luckily, the restaurant was only a quick fifteen minute walk from her house. It was along this route that the streets of the suburbs began to bleed into the outskirts of the metropolis known as Maxville. Layla never felt unsafe, but she always kept her guard up, just in case, until she could see the dim red glow of the restaurant’s lights through it’s partially-opened blinds. She finally reached the building and, before heading in, stealthily checked out her appearance in the glass of the front door.

Will hadn’t explicitly made this a _date_. Layla was painfully aware of that fact. However, she couldn’t help but doll herself up for the occasion. She decided to forgo her usual braids, pigtails, or ponytail and instead wore her hair in a half-up, half-down style that looked a bit more mature. Normally she preferred subtle makeup, but tonight she went for a bolder green eyeshadow and glossy pink lip to tie in the floral embroidery on her blouse. 

She had never really been one to care about her appearance in front of him this much, especially since she had been friends with him for so long. But ever since the ingress of Gwen Grayson into their lives, a part of her felt like she needed to do _something_ to show Will exactly what he was missing out on. In the back of her mind, however, Layla knew she was fighting a losing battle. Gwen was smart, and beautiful, and a senior, and Layla was just… Layla. How could Will ever begin to see her as more than just a friend when he had the perfect girl practically throwing herself at him?

The hostess led Layla to a booth at the front of the restaurant. She decided to take the seat with her back to the door, so she wouldn’t be compelled to obsessively watch for Will. After requesting a water with lemon and letting the waitress know she would be waiting for someone else’s arrival before ordering dinner, she pondered the events of their first two weeks at Sky High that had brought them to this point. 

After Will’s super strength manifested itself during a fight with Warren Peace on Monday and he was transferred to the hero track, it had only taken him a day to start ditching his friends in hero support. His record-breaking performance in Save the Citizen this afternoon only helped to accelerate his popularity. Layla could hardly say she was surprised. She knew that Will was the type of person who wanted to be liked, and who wanted to live up to others’ expectations of him (whether it was his parents’ expectations, or the upperclassmen that had suddenly taken an interest in him). 

Although she had tried to play it off as nothing in the moment, she couldn’t help but feel upset with the way he let Gwen’s friends treat her, Zach, Ethan, and Magenta at lunch today. He hadn’t tried to jump in and defend them when Penny insisted that their table was “full” - he just sat there, dumbfounded, clearly not wanting to put his new social status in jeopardy. It felt like a slap to the face - how was this the same Will who over the weekend had told his father, _The Commander_ for heaven’s sake, that he was proud to be a sidekick? But having him offer to make it up to her at dinner tonight was a second chance that Layla was happy to give, especially if she could get in some one-on-one time with him that Gwen hadn’t been able to get.

She sipped on her water and pulled out her phone again. It was ten past eight, and no sign of Will. He was probably on his way right now, just running a little late. No big deal. She apologized to the waitress who had again come around to take her order, assuring her that the person she was waiting on would be here any minute now.

At about eight twenty-five, Layla permitted herself to turn around and glance at the door, just to satisfy her urge to do so. Will still wasn’t here yet, and he hadn’t called or texted to let her know he was going to be late. The waitress had once again stopped at the table, giving her a pointed look that silently said _are you ordering something or what?_

“Uh, I’ll give him another few minutes,” Layla said softly, slightly embarrassed that this was now the third time she had to ask the woman to try again later. The waitress rolled her eyes and left Layla alone once more.

The longer she sat there, the more it became apparent that Will wasn’t going to come. When the waitress came back a fourth time, Layla smiled apologetically and ordered her usual - vegetable spring rolls with a side of fried rice. She was starving at this point, but she could barely get herself excited for her favorite meal.

Will had never stood her up before. Either he had completely forgotten about their plans, or he deliberately didn’t come... And she couldn’t decide which was worse. No matter what his reason was, clearly he had somewhere better to be tonight.

Layla turned her attention to the white orchids sitting in a vase at the end of the table. Her gloominess got the best of her, and the flowers immediately began to wither and droop under her gaze. She felt bad for the little plant, but knew that as a cutting, it would die soon anyways.

 _How fitting,_ Layla thought, _Orchids represent love._

Her dinner came eventually, and it tasted delicious as usual, but she couldn’t bring herself to eat much of it. Her appetite, like Will, was nowhere to be found. Layla had resigned to pushing around clumps of cold rice on her plate when a masculine voice interrupted her pity party.

“Still working on that?” 

A tall, muscled figure holding a pitcher of water appeared in her peripheral, catching her attention. She studied him for a few seconds until she realized with a slight shock that it was none other than Warren Peace. He looked different, though. His long dark hair was pulled back out of his face, which Layla was now seeing for the first time without his signature scowl.

“Hey,” she said in greeting as a look of recognition flashed in his eyes. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t figure out if she was just a semi-regular customer or if he knew her from somewhere else. After all, he was just a bus boy, not a waiter. How would he know who eats here all the time?

“...Hey,” he replied hesitantly.

“We go to school together,” Layla reminded him in a gentle voice.

Suddenly, Warren remembered exactly where he had seen her before and wished he could turn around and walk right back into the kitchen. His boss had simply told him to get this girl to leave. She had been sitting alone for an hour and a half now and it was nearly closing time. He hadn’t expected to find himself making small talk with… With...

“You’re Stronghold’s friend,” he said, realizing that she was the hippie-looking chick named Layla that followed Stronghold around like a lost puppy dog. 

“Yeah…” she admitted sheepishly, averting her gaze toward the window.

“Yeah…” he echoed.

Neither one of them could deny the awkward tension that hung in the air between them. She was clearly close with Stronghold, and he… Well, he had tried to give the guy third-degree burns the other day. Not to mention in the heat of the moment - pun intended - he had threatened Stronghold’s sidekick friends, including her. He remembered how scared she looked when he had turned on them, fists full of flames. He couldn’t understand why she was being friendly with him now when he could have easily roasted her alive then.

Unsure of what else to say to her, Warren defaulted to customer service mode and pointed to her half-eaten meal, “You want me to heat that up for you?”

Layla’s brows shot up at his question, and she glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear them. Leaning in closer, she looked up at him with wide eyes and whispered seriously, “You’re not supposed to use your powers outside of school.”

“I was just gonna stick it in the microwave,” he replied, mimicking the solemn hushed tone she had used.

She relaxed a little and chuckled. Who knew that Warren Peace had a sense of humor?

“Ah… I was supposed to be meeting Will here, but, um…” Layla looked up at him slowly, equal parts lonely and intrigued by the fact that Warren was acting so different than he did at school. He didn’t seem at all like the guy who nearly destroyed the cafeteria. “You wanna sit down?”

Warren gave the dining room a quick once-over. Aside from a couple of other tables, one of which was occupied by the hostess folding napkins, the restaurant was empty.

He knew he probably, no, _definitely_ shouldn’t be doing this. She was Stronghold’s friend, and he hated Stronghold’s guts… Not to mention, he was still on the clock. But the last reason didn’t matter that much.

“I think I can spare a minute,” he said against his better judgement, sliding into the booth opposite the girl. Empathy wasn’t really his strong suit, but deep down inside he felt just a little bit bad for her. 

Layla watched as he snapped once, igniting the tip of his left index finger and using it to light the candle sitting on the table. This garnered a shocked yet pleased expression from her, despite her initial objection to him using his powers. She couldn’t help but grin at his antics - it seemed so _Warren_ of him to disregard the rules. 

What didn’t seem very _Warren_ of him was how he smiled back at her. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. It made her completely rethink everything she thought she knew about Warren Peace. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy, after all. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps, no one had really given him a chance to be anything else.

Layla didn’t know if it was something about him or just her loneliness after sitting by herself for so long, but she found it surprisingly easy to talk to Warren. He was an attentive listener, and didn’t seem to mind that she babbled on about one thing, got carried away with a different topic, and had to backtrack to where she left off. Where Will would usually start to zone out, he would ask follow up questions. He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say… That, or he simply wanted to avoid talking about himself.

“Stronghold stand you up?” he had asked initially, watching her smile fade at the mention of him. She nodded sadly and launched into the story of how she had ended up in this predicament. 

A part of Warren felt a smug satisfaction in knowing that Stronghold was indeed the dick he thought he was, but the other part still felt kind of bad for the girl. She didn’t deserve any of what he was doing to her.

“So, what’s your power, anyway?” As much as he enjoyed hearing about how terrible Will Stronghold seemed to be, he decided it would probably be best to change the subject.

“I’m a chlorokinetic,” Layla replied, her mood starting to lift. “I can create and manipulate plants.”

Warren nodded, unsurprised at her answer. Considering how her attire seemed to consist mainly of green and floral prints, he should have anticipated as much.

“And you’re a sidekick?” he looked at her quizzically. Either she was lying, or Boomer had lost his touch.

“No. I’m _hero support_ ,” she said with a little laugh. “But I know what you must be thinking. And for the record, I refused to show Coach Boomer my power.”

Ironically, in the same way as Will, Warren questioned, “Why? You could have made hero track with a power like that.”

Layla sighed as she got mentally prepared for him to look at her like she was crazy, then explained, “Because, I just don’t think it’s _right_ to sort us out by how useful our abilities are perceived to be. It just forces us into a dichotomy that elevates one group above the other. If we’re supposed to work together to save the world when we graduate, how is separating us into these two factions going to help? I don’t want to participate in a divisive system like that.”

To her surprise, he made a little noise of approval and responded, “I never thought about it like that before.”

“Most people don’t. As soon as I got my powers when I was five, my mom taught me that they weren’t more or less important than anyone else’s,” she said, picking up one of her previously forgotten spring rolls and taking a bite. “And that just because I got mine already, it didn’t mean I was better than someone who hadn’t yet. I was supposed to keep it a secret from Will so I didn’t make him feel bad. But I tried to drop hints occasionally to see if he’d pick up on it.”

 _Of course she would circle back around to Stronghold,_ he thought to himself as he grabbed one of her fortune cookies off the table and cracked it open, tossing half into his mouth. However, he encouraged her to go on since she seemed to be in a much better mood now.

“And did he ever notice?”

“Well… Kind of. I started with little things, like making the daisies in his backyard open and close when we played outside and moving tree branches to block out the sun,” Layla explained animatedly. When Warren didn’t say anything, she continued, “So then there was this time in first grade - you know how you grow lima beans in school? Well, Will could _not_ figure out why mine was growing so quickly, it was driving him _crazy_. So finally I took mercy on him and told him about my powers… And we’ve been best friends ever since.”

“Hmm…” Warren, now reading between the lines here, asked, “And falling for him, was that before or after the lima beans?”

 _“...What?”_ she asked with feigned incredulity. “I am _not_ in love with Will Strong-”

Layla stopped mid-sentence as Warren raised his brows at her, letting her know without words that he saw right through her act.

“Is it that obvious?” she grimaced, realizing now how she just couldn’t help herself but to talk about Will.

“Yeah…”

 _“Great,”_ Layla said, feeling mortified. Apparently she didn’t do as good of a job at hiding her crush on Will as she thought she did - especially if _Warren Peace_ could tell. If it was so clear to him, who else around her knew and hadn’t said anything?

She half expected him to poke fun at her or something, but instead he asked with sincerity, “So why don’t you tell him?”

“Well, I was gonna ask him to homecoming, but there’s two problems. He likes somebody else, and she’s perfect,” Layla explained with a faraway look in her eyes.

A pensive expression overtook Warren’s features.

“You know what I think?” he asked her, taking on a serious tone of voice and looking directly into her eyes. “To let true love remain unspoken, is the quickest route to a heavy heart.”

She paused for a moment as she contemplated Warren’s words, thoroughly impressed at the poetic statement. Never in a million years, especially knowing his reputation and all of the talk in the super community surrounding his family, would she have anticipated a conversation with him to go quite like this.

 _“Wow,”_ she remarked in a breathy voice, her eyes widening in admiration. “That is _really_ deep.”

“Yeah,” he agreed solemnly. After a moment, he lifted the tiny piece of paper he had been holding and added, “And, your lucky numbers are… Four, sixteen, five, and forty-nine.”

Layla shook her head lightly and laughed at how he had her so easily fooled. All of a sudden, they were interrupted by the voice of an elderly woman - the restaurant’s manager - yelling in Cantonese from the kitchen. Warren, seeming to have understood perfectly, responded in the same language. Layla was astonished by his fluency. It was something else to add to the growing list of things that surprised her about Warren Peace.

“I gotta go,” he said simply, not elaborating on what the woman had yelled to him. He folded up the little paper with her fortune on it, handed it to her, grabbed his pitcher of water and slid out of the booth. “See you around, hippie.”

Layla couldn’t help but grin as she watched him go, still arguing in Cantonese with his boss. After he disappeared into the back of the restaurant, she unfolded the fortune and saw her lucky numbers printed out just as he’d said them aloud. She then flipped it around to read for herself the words he had spoken so elegantly. However, the tiny blue text on the slip of paper actually read:

_A person of words and not deeds is like a garden full of weeds._

Puzzled, her eyes darted over the phrase once more. She turned to look at the arch that separated the kitchen from the dining room - she could neither see nor hear Warren anymore.

Layla set down the fortune and took her wallet from her purse, leaving a twenty dollar bill to cover her meal and a tip. It was just about ten o’ clock’ now and her mother was probably starting to worry about her. Halfway to the door, she darted back and plucked her discarded fortune as well as the other unopened cookie from the table, then tossed them into her bag. Stealing one last glance toward the kitchen, she finally made her way to the door and out into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 - 7:45am_ **

When Layla approached Will’s house the following morning, she found that he wasn’t outside waiting for her like he usually was. Since she only lived a couple streets over, they always walked to the bus stop together. It wasn’t a big deal though - he _had_ to show up eventually, or risk missing the only Sky High bus that came to their neighborhood. So she continued on to the corner of Oak Avenue and decided to wait for him there. At least she’d have some more time to figure out exactly how she was going to do what she needed to do.

Thinking back to the conversation she had with Warren last night, she turned the fortune cookie she grabbed from her table around in her hands.

_To let true love remain unspoken, is the quickest route to a heavy heart._

It may not have actually been her fortune (and admittedly, her real fortune was also extremely relevant), but it _was_ some very good advice. It seemed so simple in theory; all she had to say was, “Will, I like you as more than just a friend. Do you want to go to homecoming with me?” That was it. Easy-peasy. No need to complicate it or beat around the bush.

But, the more Layla thought about it, the more she realized that it _was_ complicated. What if he said no and it ruined their friendship beyond repair? She didn’t want to lose him completely. No offense to Warren, but _that_ would be an even quicker route to a heavy heart, and it was a route she didn’t want to take.

“Layla!”

Will’s chipper voice stopped her train of thought right in its tracks, and she looked up to see him practically floating over to her.

“You’re not gonna believe what happened to me last night!” he exclaimed with a goofy grin plastered on his face. He glanced down and noticed her outstretched hand, holding the fortune cookie as a reminder of what he forgot. “Oh, I love these!”

Wearing a look of disbelief, she watched as he grabbed the cookie out of her open palm. He tore the wrapper off and, to Layla’s dismay, discarded it on the ground. She picked it up quickly enough to see him take one huge bite out of the fortune cookie, seeming to forget that there was indeed a fortune inside until it was literally in his mouth. Layla cringed slightly as he pulled it out and read it aloud.

“Your loyalties are clear when it comes to friends,” he recited with a smile, the irony lost on him at first until his face fell. “Oh god. Oh… Oh, I totally spaced. I’m sorry, I know you must wanna kill me…”

He looked so adorable when he was flustered; how could she bring herself to be angry when he clearly felt bad about forgetting her? He probably had a lot of rigorous hero-track homework now that zapped his attention, or maybe his parents distracted him with some important family matter.

“Actually, just the opposite,” Layla said, a smile of relief coming over her and giving her the courage she needed to go through with this. “I have something to tell you.”

“Yeah?” Will asked, relaxed now that he knew Layla wasn’t mad at him.

“Yeah, but you first,” she insisted. It was only fair, since he was the one who initiated the conversation anyways.

“Okay! It’s about homecoming…”

“Really? Me too!” Layla interjected, her eyes lighting up. Maybe she wouldn’t have to ask him after all, because _he_ was going to ask _her-_

“I’m going with _Gwen Grayson!”_

Layla’s heart seemed to drop all the way into the pit of her stomach and her extremities went cold. She couldn’t hide the look of utter shock that washed over her as the implication of his statement settled in. He had ditched her last night, left her sitting for hours by herself at the Paper Lantern without so much as a text, to hang out with _Gwen._

As if that hadn’t devastated her enough on its own, Will continued, “Can you believe it? Me, a _freshman,_ going with the most _amazing_ girl at Sky High!”

Layla smiled wide, but it didn’t match the wounded expression in her eyes. She mustered up all the fake enthusiasm she could and said, “That’s _awesome!”_

“I know!” he beamed as the bus finally rolled up, completely ignorant to the hurt she was attempting to hide.

Layla could feel the tears beginning to pool as they climbed aboard, Ron Wilson greeting them before heading to their usual seat in the middle of the bus. She wiped them away quickly as she filed in behind Will, careful to make sure that she looked normal by the time he turned around and plopped down next to the window.

The ride to Sky High went by painfully slow as Will went over the details of his night… How Gwen came over to tutor him and stayed for dinner, how she invited his parents to receive some special award at homecoming, and how she even kissed him on the cheek after he walked her home. They were officially together now, he said proudly. All Layla could do was sit through it and smile politely, offering “oh’s” and “ah’s” at the appropriate moments.

As they were about to touch down on the school grounds, Will exclaimed out of the blue, “Oh yeah, I almost forgot! What’s your homecoming news?”

Layla herself had even forgotten about that. Between trying not to cry and pretending to be happy for him, she hadn’t even thought to come up with something else to say now that her initial plan was redundant.

“I’m going, too,” she stated as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, ready to just drop the subject entirely.

“Really,” Will replied, not convinced that this was the big homecoming news she had made it out to be. “Who with?”

_Oh, no._

“...Who with?” Layla asked, her eyes widening in a slight panic. Shoot. _Double shoot._ That was definitely an oversight on her part.

“Yeah, who asked you?” he reiterated.

“ _Oh_ , who _asked_ me,” she repeated with a nervous laugh, buying herself exactly three more seconds as Will looked at her expectantly. Her eyes glossed over as she racked her brain for an eligible date. She blurted out the first name that came to mind, which was… 

“Warren Peace.”

The bus landed in front of the school and Layla sprang to her feet, pushing her way to the front without waiting for Will. 

On the outside she looked calm, but her mind was racing. Warren Peace? _Warren Peace?!_ How could she be so stupid! It hadn’t even occurred to her until it was too late that she could have said she was going by herself. She didn’t technically _need_ to have a date to go to homecoming. And out of all the guys she could have possibly named at Sky High, she had to choose _him?_ Yeah, he was fresh in her mind from their conversation last night at the restaurant, but surely there could have been a less controversial option… Someone like Larry. Would she realistically go to homecoming with Larry, though? Definitely not. But on the other hand, would she realistically go to homecoming with _Warren Peace?_

Or, more importantly, would Warren even go to homecoming with _her?_

She had to figure out that little detail, fast.

“Layla! Layla, slow down!”

Will was hot on her heels as she entered the school and headed in the direction of her locker.

“Warren Peace?!” he practically yelled, finally catching up to her. She really wished he wouldn’t be so loud. People were starting to stare. “You can’t be serious! Layla, the guy’s a psycho, _and_ he’s my biggest enemy! How could you go with him? When did you even start hanging out?”

Layla was beginning to get annoyed with Will. Why did it matter to him who she was supposedly going to homecoming with, now that he was going with _the most amazing girl at Sky High?_

She whipped around abruptly, causing him to stumble so not to run into her. With an unreadable expression on her face, she answered, “Last night, eight o’ clock, The Paper Lantern.”

Before Will could formulate a response, Layla had powered away and turned the corner, leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway with his mouth agape.

As she shoved the books she would need for her first few classes in her bag, she heard someone walk up on the opposite side of her locker door. For the first time in her life, she hoped it wasn’t Will.

“Sounds like you have some explaining to do,” a monotone female voice said. Layla closed her locker to find Magenta staring at her with her arms crossed over her chest and lips pressed into a thin line.

She sighed, “How much did you hear on the bus?”

“You’re going to homecoming with _Warren?_ ” The look of incredulity on her friend’s face told Layla that she was a lot less gullible than Will.

Speaking of Will, she peered over her shoulder to make sure he hadn’t materialized nearby, thankful that his power was super strength and not teleportation. Or worse, invisibility.

“Well, no. Not really,” she admitted hesitantly, garnering a questioning look from Magenta. They started in the direction of their Foundations of Hero Support class. “Will stood me up last night at the Paper Lantern to hang out with Gwen, and not only is he going to homecoming with her, they’re _together_ now.”

Magenta was the only one who Layla had trusted with the knowledge of her feelings for Will. Although she now suspected that Ethan and Zach might know something is up, considering how easy it had been for Warren to figure it out.

“For real? Even though _he_ was the one that made those plans with you? That’s some major douche-y behavior,” Magenta replied, rolling her eyes. She, along with the rest of their group, wasn’t exactly thrilled with Will as of late either. However, her bullshit tolerance was a lot lower than Layla’s. “And where exactly does Warren fit in?”

“Turns out, he works at the Paper Lantern. We talked for a while, and he’s completely different than he is at school. He convinced me to tell Will I have a crush on him and ask him to homecoming, and I almost did, but then Will told me about Gwen this morning,” Layla explained miserably, the heart-crushing feeling from not even an hour ago still fresh. “And on the bus when I said that I was _going_ to homecoming, I didn’t think he’d ask me who I was going _with_ … I panicked, okay? Warren was the first guy that came to mind.”

“So what are you gonna do now?” Magenta asked as they entered Mr. Boy’s classroom, taking their usual seats next to each other. Ethan and Zach wandered in soon after them, conversing animatedly about a new video game that had just come out over the weekend.

“I have no idea, Maj,” Layla whined, burying her face in her hands. “I really got myself into a mess. You should’ve seen the look on Will’s face after I told him.”

“I think he deserves to sweat about it for a while,” Magenta said, reclining back in her chair. “Maybe if he thinks that another guy is interested in you, he’ll come to his senses and see what’s right in front of him.”

Layla’s head snapped up to look at her shapeshifting friend.

“Magenta, that’s _it!”_

“What’s it?”

“I’m going to make Will jealous… By pretending to date Warren Peace.”

____

**  
_Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 - 12pm_   
**

The line for lunch seemed to crawl, which didn’t help Layla’s nerves as she mulled over how to ask a boy to homecoming for the second time today... Although this time, the intention was far less sincere.

Asking this favor of Warren was decidedly much more anxiety-inducing than asking Will to go to homecoming. Will was her best friend, and she generally knew what his potential reactions could have been. Warren, on the other hand, was uncharted territory. One thirty-minute conversation at the restaurant he worked at hardly constituted friendship. Essentially, she didn’t really know him and therefore had _no_ idea how he would react. And what was worse, if things went south this time, she’d have an audience. The only thing she did know for certain - which was currently the only thing she had going for her - was that he probably wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to make Will squirm.

Gripping her lunch tray with a sense of determination, she spotted him alone, buried in a book at his usual table. Sucking in a deep breath, she ignored the erratic _thump-thump-thump_ of her heart while her feet carried her across the room.

Layla’s tray emitted a light _tap_ as she set it down, breaking the bubble of silence that seemed to envelop Warren’s table. The unexpected noise made him look up, and she slid casually into the seat opposite him.

“Hi Warren,” she said cheerily as if this were the most normal thing in the world, like they did this every day.

“...Did I do or say anything last night to make you think this is okay?” he asked as the hippie smiled back at him innocently, seemingly unfazed at his change in attitude between their conversation at the restaurant and now.

It’s not like he particularly disliked sitting with Layla last night. She was fine to talk to and, although she found a way to make the conversation about Stronghold half the time, he didn’t find her overwhelmingly annoying. But this was different. They were at school now, a place where people actually knew about him and his family’s past. He had a reputation to protect… Or live down, depending on how you looked at it. Either way, having her waltz over without a care in the world was not helping him uphold his image.

“Haha you’re so funny,” Layla said in a rush, completely side-stepping his question and continuing on unbothered, “But seriously, you’re never gonna believe what happened. I was _just_ about to ask Will to homecoming when - wouldn’tcha know it - I told him I was going with _you_ instead!”

Warren narrowed his eyes at her in confusion, replying coldly, “I don’t remember that being the plan.”

To his shock (and horror), one of Layla’s sidekick friends - the girl with purple streaks in her hair - plopped down in the seat next to her. She pulled a pen from the rings of her open notebook and, without even addressing Warren, asked, “Hey Layla, you did the history homework?”

The hippie he could handle temporarily, but a _second_ sidekick? Absolutely not.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he accosted her.

Without missing a beat, purple girl gave him an apathetic look and deadpanned, “It’s called _sitting.”_

“No one sits here but _me,”_ Warren emphasized, turning his accusatory gaze back to Layla. After all, she was the one who invaded his space first.

“Mm-hmm,” purple girl considered his statement indifferently as Layla “ooh-ed” at his threatening tone and giggled to herself. 

...Were they _mocking_ him? They should be _afraid_ of him!

Purple girl turned to Layla and continued as if Warren hadn’t said anything, “What’d you get for number four? I wasn’t sure if Tigerman was A, bitten by a radioactive tiger or B, bitten by a regular tiger and then exposed to radiation…”

As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, Warren suddenly felt someone slide into the seat to his right.

“Hey, we’re eating at Warren’s table now?! I feel _extremely_ dangerous!”

He turned to find another one of Layla’s sidekick friends, the short guy with the glasses, sitting uncomfortably close to him.

“Whoa, _whoa-”_

“This guy bothering you, Magenta?” another male voice said. In his distraction, Warren didn’t even notice that the tall, obnoxious blonde kid Layla was friends with had rounded out their group and was now sitting on his left. He was surrounded by sidekicks.

“Try the other way around,” Warren said through gritted teeth. In a sarcastic tone, he added, “Does anyone _else_ need a date for homecoming?”

The kid with the glasses raised his hand unironically. All of a sudden, Layla burst out laughing as if Warren had just said the funniest thing she’d ever heard. He quickly found that she wasn’t even looking at him, though. He followed her gaze over to…

Stronghold, walking by the table with Gwen Grayson and Penny Lent.

“Warren, you are _craaa-zy,”_ she exclaimed, putting on a fake smile as Stronghold eyed them, clearly perturbed.

A look of perplexity crossed his face as he glanced from Layla to Will, who had turned to stare over his shoulder briefly, then back to Layla.

“Please, I _promise_ I’ll make this as painless as possible,” she begged once she made sure that Will was out of earshot. Warren instantly put two and two together.

“So, you’re not doing this just ‘cuz you like me or anything. You’re doing this to get to Stronghold,” he said, verbalizing what she had been too reluctant to say herself.

_“...Yeah,”_ she admitted quietly.

_Here it comes,_ she thought, bracing herself for rejection. _He’s gonna say no. This was such a stupid idea, I should have just told Will the truth-_

“Then I’m in,” Warren said, grinning. Layla’s brows shot up in surprise - it really had been _that_ easy.

Warren’s smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, being replaced by his usual angry glower as he leaned in ever so slightly towards her.

“...But I’m not renting a tux.”

Before Layla had a chance to thank him, Warren stood up and grabbed his belongings, making sure to hit Zach’s shoulder with his bag on the way out. Ethan immediately slid over to fill his vacated seat.

“Hey, if Warren’s not here, is this still the tough guy table?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to RafaT, naenay, linceballerina19, BookishBronwyn, tobithia, eadrikschreavekoskinen, stephen_lestrange, kelleyanny, and the guests who left me kudos from the first chapter! Also a special thank you to stephen_lestrange, tobithia, and RafaT for the comments. Your support means a lot to me, especially considering how niche this fandom is. It makes me happy to know that there are people out there who are enjoying my writing! :)


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thursday, September 15th - 7:52am** _

The bus home yesterday afternoon had been painfully uncomfortable. Layla and Will, stuck sitting together after their friends paired off already, only managed to say two words to each other for the entire duration of the ride: “hi” and “bye.” Layla had been afraid that any other form of conversation would have resulted in disaster.

As she headed to the corner of Oak Avenue by herself, Layla couldn’t help but wrestle with her own conscience. She had lost sleep over it last night; the back-and-forth in her head over whether or not this plan was a good idea had kept her tossing and turning. A part of her did feel bad about lying to Will, and she figured that the metaphorical wall suddenly built between them was some kind of instant karma for it. But she was in too deep to back out now. She’d gotten Warren involved. Not to mention that when the guilt started to build up, a little voice in the back of her head reminded her of why she decided to go through with it in the first place. She’d think about Will with Gwen, together while she sat alone and forgotten about at the Paper Lantern, and she could feel her chest tighten as if thick vines were constricting her ribcage.

Will was already at the bus stop. He spotted her and slowly raised his hand in a cautious wave.

“Hey,” she greeted nonchalantly as she came to stand a couple feet away. Layla knew that the least she could do at the moment was be civil. Angry or not, she still deeply cared about him.

“Hey,” he replied. One corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile, highlighting his stupid, endearing little dimple. Layla couldn’t help but soften her gaze momentarily.

“So… How are things with Gwen?”

“Good. Uh, really good. We’re going to see a movie this weekend. How’s Warren?”

“Good.”

They stood in silence for a while until Will piped up in earnest, his eyes barely able to meet her’s.

“Look, I’m sorry for freaking out on you yesterday about you going to homecoming with Warren… But Layla, I don’t like it.”

 _Well, I don’t like that you forgot about your friends as soon as you were switched to hero track. Or that you stood up your best friend of eight years to be with a girl you met two weeks ago,_ Layla desperately wanted to say. But she bit her tongue. She knew better than to argue when she was upset. Hurt people hurt people, her mother would say, followed up by some anecdote about being the bigger person and not using words as weapons. It was just one of the many life lessons Jenny Williams impressed upon her only child after the divorce.

When Layla didn’t say anything, Will continued.

“I _really_ don’t like it. I mean, you were there on Monday in the cafeteria. You saw what happened,” he shook his head, glancing at the pavement. “I guess I’m just shocked, you know?” 

Layla couldn’t believe it. Her plan seemed to be _working_.

Playing dumb, she asked, “Shocked about what? That someone might be interested in asking me to homecoming?”

“Shocked that you would even consider going with someone like Warren,” Will shifted his weight anxiously, fixing his gaze on something off in the distance. “We’re talking about a guy who’s on the fast track to be voted _Most Likely to Become a Supervillian_ -”

“How can you say that? You don’t know the real Warren,” Layla countered, crossing her arms defensively. 

Like _she_ even knew the real Warren.

“The real Warren is dangerous, Layla,” Will warned as the bus arrived.

“There’s more to him than what you see at school,” Layla said simply, brushing past Will to step onto the bus first.

At least from what she could tell, _that_ statement was the truth.

____

**  
_Thursday, September 15th - 12:03pm_   
**

Warren was beginning to regret his decision to go along with Layla’s plan. 

Sure, the chance to get under Stronghold’s skin without landing himself in detention had appealed to him. His mother had been pretty upset with him after getting that phone call from Principal Powers, and he didn’t want to disappoint her again. But it seemed like the hippie had a different definition of the word _painless_ than he did.

For the second day in a row, he found her sitting across from him uninvited, greeting him with a smile and a jovial hello. According to her, Stronghold kept throwing them pained glances from across the room, much to Gwen’s annoyance. He didn’t need to take his eyes off the pages of his book to know that other students were also starting to notice her presence at his table - he could hear the murmurs, could practically feel their eyes like sharp knives stuck into his back.

_“Is she stupid? Peace is a psycho…”_

_“I didn’t even know he talked to anyone at all, let alone a sidekick…”_

_“She better be careful, otherwise he’ll try to set her on fire next. Is she not scared of him?”_

Apparently, Layla could hear them too.

“Ignore them,” she said, as if he hadn’t spent his first two years at Sky High doing just that. “They’re being so rude.”

“They’re right though,” he replied coolly, his gaze still focused on the words printed in the worn paperback he held in front of him. “You should be scared of me.”

”But I’m not,” Layla said simply, shoving a fork full of lettuce into her mouth. 

Warren supposed that was his own fault - he let his guard down with her on Tuesday night and now he was suffering the consequences. To be fair, he didn’t think he would talk to her ever again after that, seeing as their paths had absolutely no reason to intersect under normal circumstances. But like your typical garden weed, she had wormed her way into his life and taken root there. She wouldn’t be easy to get rid of.

“You do know I could incinerate this entire table in less than thirty seconds if I wanted to, right?” Warren reminded her, absentmindedly taking a bite of his own lunch.

Layla rolled her eyes lightly at him.

“Oh come on, you’re not _all_ bad. I know that the Warren I talked to at the Paper Lantern is in there somewhere,” she said, searching his face for any sign of friendliness like he had shown the other night. Instead, she got his usual stone cold stare. Layla glanced around to make sure no one was listening in too intently before leaning toward him to continue. “But if you really want to keep up the tough guy act, you probably shouldn’t be reading Keats in the middle of the cafeteria.”

Warren could feel the heat rise in his face. He immediately shoved the book in his bag, doing everything in his power to hide the embarrassed scowl that threatened to play across his lips.

“It’s for an assignment,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Maybe I’d believe that if this was a regular high school, but we don’t study poetry at Sky High,” Layla gave him a wry smile. “If it means anything to you though, I think English Romantic poetry is pretty great. The use of nature allusions is really insightful.”

Warren pressed his thumb and middle finger to the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and hoping the hippie would disappear if he counted backwards from three… Two… One…

When he opened them again, she was still sitting in front of him, munching on her salad and staring back at him with a kind-hearted look that none of his peers had ever given him before.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“ _...This._ I already agreed to your plan to make Stronghold jealous. I said I’d take you to homecoming. Isn’t that enough?”

“Well…” Layla started slowly, dropping her gaze to her lunch tray and staring like the lettuce was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. “I _kind of_ need Will to think we’re, um, _dating_ … So that means sitting together. And me stopping by your locker in the hero wing occasionally. It’s on the other side of the hall and down a little from Will’s, right? Because it’s alphabetical-”

“Look, if I’d have known there’d be terms and conditions, I would have said no,” Warren growled. Her lips pressed into the smallest of frowns.

“So far the only condition is that you aren’t renting a tux. Which is fine by me.”

“You know what I meant.”

She sighed, spearing some fruit with her fork.

“If we’re fake-dating, it needs to look convincing,” Layla said matter-of-factly. ”What kind of girlfriend wouldn’t sit with her boyfriend at lunch?”

“The _fake_ kind,” he replied, heavily emphasizing the word.

“Well if I can't sit with you because I’m your fake girlfriend, what about as your friend? Friends sit with each other at lunch.”

“Friends?” Warren asked, the word rolling off of his tongue as if it was completely foreign to him. In a way, Layla figured it was. “In case you haven’t noticed, hippie, I don’t play well with others. I don’t have _friends_. And I like it that way.”

“I have a hard time believing that. You _did_ sit down with me at the Paper Lantern, after all...”

Out of the corner of his eye, Warren saw the guy who dressed in fluorescent yellow heading in the direction of the table, followed by Magenta and the kid with glasses. 

“Yo Layla, Warren!” the walking, talking highlighter called out to them in greeting. “What up?”

Warren groaned, “We’re really doing this again?”

Layla gave him a pleading look and said, “Give them a chance. Please? You might like having friends.”

Her insistence seemed to have little effect on him. He rose abruptly, slinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing his partially-eaten lunch.

“I’ll take a rain check,” he grumbled. “Bye, hippie.”

____

**  
_Thursday, September 15th - 1:10pm_   
**

After donning their matching Sky High athletic outfits, Layla and Magenta made their way into the gymnasium, scouring the packed stands for Ethan and Zach. The crowd was already buzzing - Save the Citizen, held with the entire school in attendance every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, was a favorite among the majority of the student body. Layla, however, wasn’t as enthused as her peers. In fact, during the first week of school she had been terrified of getting chosen to participate. Refusing to fight and receiving an F was more appealing than compromising her beliefs, but she quickly learned that she wouldn’t have to worry. Sidekicks almost never got picked.

Layla likened the event to a normal high school’s football games, especially since Sky High didn’t have a football team like a non-super high school did. The heroes were the jocks, and the sidekicks were… Well, everyone else.

In that same context, today’s Save the Citizen was like the homecoming game. Everyone was a little more energized and excited than usual. Will and Warren, the most unlikely duo, were set to defend their record-breaking win from Tuesday.

“I’m hoping I’m wrong, but I think they just got lucky last time,” Magenta said as they climbed up the steps, making their way to the empty seats their friends had saved them. If there was ever anyone to give a reality check, it was Maj. “They had no strategy, barely worked as a team, and Will has only had his powers for a few days now.”

“But at least this time, they can choose who they’re going up against,” Layla reminded her in an optimistic tone. “That should give them some kind of advantage. Right?”

“We’ll see.”

“I hope they pick me,” Zach chimed in, clasping his hands together in anticipation. “Once they face Zach Attack, they won’t even know what hit ‘em, man-”

A dubious look from Magenta and Ethan stopped him mid-sentence. 

“Uh, I mean, I’d go easy on ‘em… Wouldn’t wanna embarrass Will or anything…”

As Will and Warren donned the school’s standard-issue armor, Layla spotted Gwen a few rows below her, sitting next to Penny and others from their usual group. She wiggled her fingers daintily at Will and blew him a kiss. Will, cheeks turning a light shade of pink, beamed at her and did the same. He didn’t even seem to notice his sidekick friends sitting just beyond her.

Warren had witnessed the exchange as well, scoffing as he followed Will’s line of sight back to Gwen. His eyes then incidentally met Layla’s.

Seizing her chance, Layla gave an exaggerated, toothy grin and waved wildly at Warren. He lifted a hand in acknowledgement, then quickly put it down in an effort to not draw too much attention to himself. Layla was relieved to see him playing along, even just a little bit. And just as she hoped… Will had noticed. With his brows furled, his attention flickered to her. She gave him a little thumbs up and a much smaller smile before Coach Boomer finally blew his whistle to begin.

“Stronghold, Hothead! Heroes or villains?” he barked from his seat overlooking the gym floor.

Will swallowed hard and glanced at Warren, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Uh… Heroes?” he answered for both of them.

“Well, that makes one of you at least… Choose your opponents,” Coach Boomer directed, scribbling on his clipboard when Will spoke up again for both himself and Warren. He decided on Gwen’s friend Abigail Hale, who could control weather, and their freshman classmate Dustin Klein, who had impressed Boomer during power placement when he morphed into his doppelganger.

Once Abigail and Dustin were suited up, Boomer put three minutes on the clock and blew his whistle. A wooden mannequin was then lowered halfway over the literal death trap built into the floor, spinning with razor-sharp spikes ready to tear the dummy to shreds. Layla thought the entire mechanism was barbaric and excessive.

“Three, two, one… _Battle!_ ”

Warren’s fists immediately burst into flames. He didn’t wait for Will to make a move before winding up to throw a fireball at Dustin. But before he could launch one, Abigail raised a hand, causing a mass of dark clouds to accumulate directly over him. A clap of thunder shook the building, causing the students in the stands to jump in surprise. Warren turned his head upward just as the clouds began to douse him in a heavy downpour.

The rain subdued Warren’s fire on contact and steam rose up from his hands. He was soaked from head to toe within seconds, his long hair flattened and now sticking to his face. Cursing as most of the spectators laughed at his expense, he tried to re-ignite himself repeatedly to no avail. Every small flame he could produce was instantly put out by the unrelenting storm. He tried to quickly move out from under its shadow, but slipped in the water that had now pooled on the floor.

“Stronghold, stop standing around and do something!” he growled at Will, who was watching the scene unfold with a bewildered expression. Clearly, he had underestimated Abigail’s powers. Will snapped his attention away from Warren’s personal thunderstorm and charged toward the hanging mannequin, intent on ending this as soon as possible. But Abigail suddenly changed tactics. She lowered her hand, making the rain over Warren disappear. Opening both palms, a thick fog began to materialize, soon covering the entire floor in a white haze about six feet high.

Layla tried to spot Will somewhere, but it was nearly impossible. All four students seemed to have disappeared. After about fifteen seconds, the fog began to settle.

“Warren, over here!” Will called out. He had ended up on the opposite side of the court. Layla could see him through a little break in the fog, waving to get Warren’s attention.

“What? I’m right here,” another voice that sounded like Will yelled. He stepped into view, looking bewildered.

From her seat on the bleachers, Layla couldn’t tell which was the real Will. They looked and sounded exactly the same. And if she couldn’t figure out which one was actually her friend, she knew Warren probably couldn’t either.

Warren seized up the identical Strongholds, trying to find some clue that might give away who was the imposter. The situation was almost as ironic as it was infuriating - it was bad enough he was stuck doing Save the Citizen with Will, soaking wet because of his choice in opponent, and now there were _two_ of him... Like the world really needed _another_ Will Stronghold. Furthermore, his gym grade depended on figuring out which was the real one.

“Don’t listen to him, I’m Will!” the first Will insisted, taking a step forward. Warren’s fists ignited once more, ready to throw flames at both Strongholds if that’s what it took to end this round.

“Oh, yeah?” the second Will retorted, yanking an obstacle - a mailbox - out of the floor and launching it through the air effortlessly, as if it were made of cardboard. “Then catch!”

The now obviously fake Will Stronghold ducked as the mailbox sailed over his head, clanging onto the floor somewhere behind him. Dustin could clone well, but his power had limitations. The resemblance to Will only ran skin-deep - he couldn’t replicate the other person’s powers. 

Warren sent a myriad of fireballs flying as Dustin morphed back into himself. He was barely able to dodge them, with one singeing the sleeve of his t-shirt. The rest landed on the ground, blackening the wooden floorboards beneath his feet.

Layla was beginning to doubt Will and Warren’s chances of another win. By now, half of the allotted time had ticked away, and quick frankly, Abigail seemed too good at harnessing her power for them to overcome her… And she was about to attempt her most ambitious attack yet.

Closing her eyes, she reached both hands out in front of her, concentrating hard. Strong gusts of wind began to circulate throughout the gym, despite there being no windows open. It rippled through the students’ hair and made Coach Boomer clutch at his baseball cap, then began to spin closer and closer together until it formed a modest-sized visible tornado that touched down on the floor.

Layla, along with the other students, gasped audibly at the sight. Will and Warren’s eyes widened, and even Abigail seemed taken aback at her own abilities. The wind continued to whip, the noise now making it hard to hear anything. But Layla could just barely make out Abigail yelling desperately to Dustin.

“I can’t control it!” she shouted, trying and failing to direct the tornado’s movements. It seemed to have a mind of it’s own. It turned quickly, carving a path toward where she and Dustin were standing and trapping them into a corner.

Will and Warren glanced at each other, and Warren nodded toward the mannequin that was getting lower by the second. Taking advantage of their opponents’ mistake seemed to be their only option. With thirty seconds left on the clock, they ran over to the “citizen” hanging from the ceiling. Will lifted up Warren like he weighed next to nothing, and Warren was able to successfully sear through the rope to retrieve the mannequin.

By the time Coach Boomer had blown his whistle and declared the heroes the winners, Abigail had finally been able to calm down the winds and stop the tornado before it got too out of hand. The students in the stands had broken out in cheers and applause - and Will was eating it up. He pumped a fist in the air as chants of “Will, Will, Will!” echoed throughout the gym, initiated by Gwen. Warren shook his head in mild disgust, tossing the mannequin to the ground and walking away from the center of the court.

“But Warren helped, too,” Ethan said, still politely applauding his friend.

“What did I tell you,” Magenta shook her head lightly. “They got lucky. If Abby hadn’t lost control of her power, they would have gotten destroyed.”

Layla nodded solemnly in agreement with her friends. Maj was right - they were lucky. Will had bitten off more than he could chew by choosing to go up against Abigail. And Ethan had a point, too. It wasn’t fair to Warren that the crowd was only celebrating Will.

After their close call, Will was more careful about picking opponents, allowing him and Warren to go another four rounds undefeated until the period was over. He looked bolder and more confident after each win, heavily playing up the crowd’s chanting and cheering as Warren watched, unamused. Layla was happy they were doing well, but something felt off. Will didn’t normally act like this, and it was unsettling to her.

As the students filed out of the gym, Layla, Magenta, Ethan, and Zach tried to find Will to congratulate him. But the heroes had surrounded him, relishing in the fact that he was now the first ever freshman with a winning streak in Save the Citizen.

“Will!” Layla called out from behind him, trying to get his attention.

“Over here, man!” Zach said.

Will glanced back, giving the sidekicks a smile and a wave until Gwen and her friends stole his attention once again. He didn’t even try to break away to come talk to them.

Layla shook her head in disappointment, opening her mouth to say something about how he’d barely acknowledged them at all today when Magenta elbowed her in the side.

“Hothead at twelve o’ clock,” she announced, pointing just up the hall to Warren’s brooding figure attempting to break through a throng of unaware, slow-walking students. “Go!”

Before she even knew what was happening, Magenta gave her a gentle shove forward. She used the momentum to push past Will’s posse of heroes, weaving between other groups until she caught up to him.

“Hey Warren, you did a great job today!” she exclaimed with a smile, falling into step beside him. She noticed that his hair was still partially damp from Abigail’s thunderstorm during the first round of Save the Citizen.

“I don’t deserve that much credit. It was _all_ Stronghold,” he said in a sarcastic tone, foregoing any pleasantries and keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Layla looked over her shoulder at Will, who was still encircled by the upperclassmen heroes. His smile faltered as he noticed her now walking away with Warren, and she quickly turned back around.

“For what it’s worth, we thought that everyone cheering only for Will wasn’t fair,” Layla said, motioning to her group of friends behind them. “I’m sorry.”

Warren chuckled humorlessly, “Don’t be. I might just throw the first round next Tuesday so I don’t have to play sidekick to Stronghold anymore… No offense or anything.”

“None taken. I chose the sidekick life, remember?”

“Oh, right. Forgot that’s your way of going against the system.”

“Yeah…”

The two walked in silence until they came to the hallway junction where they’d split up to go to their respective lockers.

“Well… See you tomorrow?” Layla asked Warren before they went their separate ways. She got only a shrug in return, and then he was gone. Magenta found her, and they continued on to the hero support wing with Zach and Ethan trailing behind them.

“Maj, this is harder than I thought it would be,” she admitted to her friend. How was she supposed to convince Will that her and Warren were actually together if he didn’t even seem to want to be around her?

“Uh, did you _see_ the way Will was glaring at Warren? You’re doing something right,” Magenta assured her.

“Really?” Layla asked, her voice hopeful.

“Really. You’d think he just witnessed someone kick a puppy.”

Layla winced at the mental image.

“But he’ll catch on eventually if Warren keeps ditching me during lunch,” she sighed.

“How about me, Zach, and Ethan hang back at our old table tomorrow?” Magenta suggested. “It’s not exactly a secret that he hates having the rest of us there, anyways.” 

“I don’t want you guys to feel like I’m abandoning you, though,” Layla insisted. “In a roundabout way, I’d be doing the same thing to you that Will is doing to us and-”

Magenta silenced Layla with a look, saying, “You’re not abandoning us if _I’m_ the one suggesting it.”

“...I guess you’re right,” Layla admitted in resignation.

“When am I not?” Magenta asked hypothetically as they stopped at her locker. “This is only temporary, anyways. Once you get Will to see that he belongs with _you_ and not Gwen, it won’t be an issue.”

 _Temporary._ Layla hadn’t really thought about how long this might have to go on before Will came around. Ideally, it would happen sooner than later. But what if it didn’t? Homecoming was exactly a month from today. What if the dance came and went and Will was still dating Gwen? She was sure that Warren wouldn’t put up with her plan much longer than that. At some point, she just might have to give up.

No, she decided. She would make this work, somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for putting up with me and waiting so long for an update. I got a second job in mid-December and when I'm not working I literally fall into bed and cannot get myself motivated to do anything most days so writing has been slow going. But I am trying, lol.
> 
> I have quite a few headcannons about Sky High that will come up in this fic, one of which is that Warren is a junior during the events of the film... Idk it just makes sense to me since 1) he has a job and 2) he just looks older than the rest of them.
> 
> Lastly, I am BLOWN AWAY by the response that I've gotten to my writing so far. Like holy cow I didn't think I'd be getting 50+ kudos on a Sky High fanfiction?? I didn't even think there were 50 people on the internet that even cared about Sky High in 2020/21 so thank you all.  
> Thank you specifically to hufflebibin, What_The_Earth, the_marathon_continues, irishsolo, klon1882, hawaiianmermaid701, Fangirl_5711, tvdffnnin, reyroseren, Inkly, mhernandez5, CrazycatSitter, Boomer1125, chacha7878, hearth_goddess, madskies, csreads, ultralillylove, implayinggod, Ferianda, Juugp, Flowergirl2201, smolbutstabby_98, Barbara22, Thestaredown, anunknownagenda, echobot, as well as the guests who left kudos on the previous chapter! And a special thank you to the_marathon_continues, skyedmry, hawaiianmermaid701, acrowthatlaughs/tvdffnnin, mhernandez5, Joline11, and Juugp for the comments!


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